As well as out-of-town activists, the protest drew a few dozen Hamptons locals, like retired teacher Phyllis Mallach from East Hampton. "This is the first demonstration I've ever been moved to attend," she said, seeking shade alongside a local physician. "Right now, our country's not a democracy."

In his button-down and boat shoes, East Hampton lawyer Jeff Bragman stood out somewhat from the crowd of Occupy faithful, but he did so intentionally. "I came here because I have grey hair and I look reasonable and I thought it might help," he said. "I don't want billionaires buying elections. It's simple."

Rumors of an organized counter-protest proved untrue, although one Vietnam veteran set up his own pro-Romney display about a third of a mile down the road from David Koch's property. Virginia resident Jim Wilson, 70, has been following the GOP candidate around the country in his customized pick-up truck, festooned with Mitt Romney signs and flags. He's met Romney "several dozen" times, he said. "I'm personally in love with Ann Romney," he added, lighting a pipe. "She's a supermom."

Some Cooper's Beach day-trippers shared Wilson's sentiment as they watched the protest unfold from a safe distance. "Obama takes more money from Wall Street than Romney and throws fundraisers at Sarah Jessica Parker's house," said Michael Pizzo, a Suffolk County resident who spends summers in Southampton. "Why aren't these people protesting there?"

Other beach-goers noted David Koch's reputation locally as a family man and generous employer, hiring locals for jobs ranging from babysitting to gardening. He's seldom seen in Southampton Village itself, they said, and keeps a low profile.

The Koch protest ended at around 6:30pm without any violence or arrests. The same can't be said for a Romney fundraiser held earlier on Sunday in East Hampton at the home of another conservative billionaire, Revlon tycoon Ron Perelman. As the LA Times first reported, two protesters tried to access Perelman's compound on Georgica Pond by boat. Their quest ended in handcuffs when they accidentally crashed into an East Hampton Marine Patrol boat.

The last major anti-Koch action took place in Washington, D.C. at the height of the Occupy movement, when around 1,000 activists gathered outside a summit organized by the Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Foundation. The protest ended in violence, injury and arrest.

“We respect the protestors’ rights to free speech and to peaceably assemble. These rights apply not only to the protestors, but to those who are hosting and attending the fundraiser.

"It is ironic that the pretext for the protest is supposed “outrage” at the role of money in politics. Considering the record-setting fundraising by President Obama reported here, here, here, here, here, and here, the hypocrisy of the Left and their attempts to mislead the public are obvious. There is a double-standard at work and the message from the Left is that fundraising for their preferred candidates is fine, but donations to those with differing points of view are somehow immoral. The left’s outrage is selective and hollow.”